Too Late
by Young Republican
Summary: When Cory's best friend Jesse is missing, the SMBBP is called to invesitage. TC puts Bobby and Monica in charge of the investigation and while working together sparks start to develope...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following: T.C., Cory, Monica, Russ, Jamie, or Bobby. I do own the following: the story plot, Jesse Wilhelm, and Byron Sanchez.  
  
Authors Notes: I haven't watched Pacific Blue in so long because I haven't seen it on. So this story is written in the time that I last saw the show. Please review this story and tell me what you think, as well as any suggestions you have. You can also email me at july_baby98@yahoo.com  
  
  
  
Too Late  
  
Monica Harper tossed her long, thick blond hair back and let a laugh escape. Pedaling next to her, Bobby Cruz smiled as he kept his eye on the hoards of people littering the boardwalk on the Santa Monica pier.  
  
Everywhere he looked, it seemed, people were popping out of stores or emerging from ally's. It was a clear day outside, the sun was bright and warm and high in the beautiful blue sky. The ocean water was warm, and Bobby was sure that later that day most of the people on the boardwalk would congregate to the beach in search of the refreshingly cool water.  
  
But for now his attention was focused on the tourists. He glanced around, looking at the people, searching for signs of trouble.  
  
Monica, noticing his glancing, laughed again. "You're way to serious, Bobby. This is great exercise, you get to work on your tan. It's only nine- o-clock in the morning, you know these are all tourists." She said, nodding toward the people. The native's of California made it a habit to stay in until noon and then when the tourists and gone to the local, posh beaches, they would come out and shop and go to the better beaches, the ones only locals would know.  
  
"People are people, Mon." He reminded her. She sighed and glanced around. Bobby's attitude was too serious, if there was such a thing. He was to intent on his job. Granted, he was responsible for his younger sister Teresa, and he had lost his parents to a drunk driver when he was relatively young, but still...You think that would have made him more carefree. Instead it turned him into a serious, mature, aggressive cop.  
  
Monica, on the other hand, was content to have fun and flirt and generally not worry about much. Well, not worrying was an understatement. After all, wasn't her constant desire to please those around her actually a facade? Wasn't it only to hide the constant insecurities of not being good enough, pretty enough, and smart enough? Shaking her head she thought, when you start analyzing yourself you have serious problems.  
  
The morning crowd was starting to drift away when Russ Granger and Cory McNamara came on duty. Cory gave a sleepy nod as she wheeled her bike out of the garage and hopped on impatiently. She was in serious need of coffee and physical exertion to wake her up. She and her friend Jesse Wilhelm had stayed up late talking about life in general. Jesse and Cory had been friends throughout grade school and high school, however Jesse's college plans took him to Wisconsin and Cory stayed in Santa Monica. Last week, however, Jesse had surprised Cory by showing up unexpectedly at her doorstep. Cory was currently letting him stay at her house until he was able to find a place of his own, which she hopped would be a while yet. She and Jesse were just starting to catch up on their lives, ultimately, the reasons for their late night talk fests.  
  
Russ Granger, or more commonly called Granger, seemed to have had a late night too. He gave the same, sleepy nod to Cory and mounted his bike. "Let's get this over with." He said a bit grumpily.  
  
Cory, agreeing fully, started to pedal, hopping to find Bobby and Monica soon. Once Cory and Russ had found Bobby and Monica and told them they were off duty, Cory sighed. There was a comfortable silence as Cory and Russ gave half their attention to the throngs of people on the beaches and boardwalks. Russ narrowly dogged an inexperienced inliner and swore under his breath.  
  
"Easy, cowboy. It's our job to watch out for them, remember?" Cory joked as she also dogged an inliner.  
  
"Yes, but doesn't give them any excuse to be idiots and reckless." He replied, his eyes betraying his seemingly bitter mood. Russ could never stay grumpy for long, life was too fun for him. The rare times he was grumpy and out of sorts was normally a result of being turned down by a woman or having Jamie Strickland, his roommate and also a bike cop, yell at him. And even then, he took everything with a grain of salt. Why worry about tomorrow when you've still got today, was his motto. And it's a damn good one, he thought to himself.  
  
Cory glanced around, searching for signs of trouble. Everything was quiet though, and it was almost nice. Except that when things were quiet for too long, as they had been for a while, that normally meant there was big trouble brewing. And now that Jesse was back in her life she didn't want anything to distract her attention from him.  
  
By the time that Cory and Russ were going back to the station, both were amazed at the lack of trouble they'd encountered. Of course, there had been a few skirmishes among tourists and between tourists and locals, but as far as trouble went, that didn't even make it on the scale.  
  
"It's eerie. I'm not sure whether to shout for joy or hide in a corner." Cory tried explaining to T.C. Callaway as they sat in his office that overlooked the station below.  
  
"Cop's instinct, that's your problem. You're so use to being on the edge that when things actually calm down you're scared." He told her, no joking in his voice.  
  
"Does it get that way for you?" She asked, getting up and peering down at the officers below. Most of them were sitting around relaxing, only a handful of cops actually had something to do.  
  
"Sometimes. Right now, though, I'm just enjoying the lapse. I'm sure in a few days things will pick up again." He gave a light chuckle, "Then you'll be sitting up here telling me how you wish things would become quiet again." 


	2. Chapter 2

Jamie Strickland sighed as she picked up another article of Russ's clothing. He was such a pig; she couldn't understand how she continued to live with him. Habit, she supposed, and the fact that where am I going to be able to afford something on my own?  
  
She cringed as she walked past Russ's Harley Davidson bike on her way to the washer and dryer. She sorted her whites and his whites and then separated their colors. She was loading his whites into the washer when a cruel, yet too good to pass, she grabbed her favorite red bra and dropped it in with his white. Maybe, she mused, he'll learn to pick up his junk. After a few weeks of pink boxers and undershirts he'll get the message, she laughed.  
  
Moving on from laundry, she attempted to tackle the dishes that littered their sink. This, she declared, is bull. Then, walking to her room, she left the dished for Russ to wash.  
  
The sun was slowly starting to fade when Monica left the station. She was slightly disappointed, she had thought since things were quiet T.C. might pay more attention to her. Instead he stayed in his office talking with Cory for the better half of his shift. Now, grabbing her ADIDAS duffel bag, Monica tried to flag down Russ Granger for a ride but he didn't see him.  
  
"Damn." She muttered, then her eyes brightened when she saw Bobby Cruz starting to pull up to the curb where she was standing. Next to his job and sister, Bobby's jeep was his prized possession. It was a brand new, black Jeep Wrangler, and fully loaded.  
  
"Need a lift?" He asked lightly. Monica nodded and climbed in, first throwing her bag in the back, though.  
  
"Thanks." She said, fastening her seatbelt. They were driving for a few minutes when Monica decided she couldn't stand the silence any longer, "So are you glad for the lull in action?"  
  
"Yes and no." He told her, glancing at her quickly, then averting his attention to the road. "I like the relaxive state, however I miss the action."  
  
"See, you're the type of person that loves being a cop because of the action." She told him, not fully realizing she was saying that aloud.  
  
"Well aren't you?" He asked, as if the idea of a cop not liking action was ludicrous.  
  
"Of course. I'm always up for action. But I don't need action to feel like I'm doing my job. Police awareness, you know?" She explained, "If often does more good because a cop is around so people are aware of that and don't do anything criminal, or at least what they think isn't illegal."  
  
"I suppose." Bobby agreed then pulled into the driveway of the apartment complex that they shared. It was coincidence that they ended up in the same complex. Bobby had originally opted for Cory to move into the apartment two doors down from his, however she found a better offer. He couldn't blame her for taking it. At first, though, he hadn't been thrilled of having Monica Harper living so close to him. But soon he realized that Monica seemed to have settled down a bit, at least she didn't seem to be completely boy crazy anymore. And now, he almost found himself considering her a friend.  
  
"Thanks again for the lift." She said as she grabbed her bag and hopped out of the jeep.  
  
"No problem, it's not like I had to go far out of the way or anything." Bobby stated with humor. Monica, however, was already in the building and waved over her shoulder.  
  
Bobby, shaking his head and giving a small smile, laughed and followed her.  
  
His younger sister Teresa opened the door swiftly when he was just about to insert the apartment key into the lock. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into the room. "Hurry!" She said in a state of semi-panic.  
  
"Teresa? Jesus, what's wrong? You want to give me a heart attack or something?"  
  
"I'm sorry," She moved to sit down on the sofa in their medium sized living room, "but this guy, Bryon, has been hanging around the apartment, but I don't want to talk to him."  
  
Bobby frowned, "Why?"  
  
Pausing, Teresa quickly thought, "He's not the kind of guy you'd want me to hang around with."  
  
"Like that's ever stopped you before?" He said, now growing suspicious. "What's up, Teresa?"  
  
Teresa's eyes grew wide, then quickly returned too normal. "Nothing is going on, Bobby. I just don't want to talk to Bryon and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't either."  
  
Bobby shook his head and let it go with that. Eventually, he thought, I'll find out anyway. 


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning was the same as the previous, warm and clear and promising to be a beautiful afternoon. But inside Cory's apartment she as frantic with worry. Jesse hadn't come home last night and as far as she knew he hadn't called either. She ran to her answering machine and checked for messages, her fingers crossed, but there were none. "Damn!" She muttered, "Where the hell are you, Jesse?" She spoke to the walls.  
  
She half expected Jesse to swing open the door and surprise her with breakfast or something unreal like that. But he didn't.  
  
It wasn't like Jesse to take off and not come back, after years of friendship she knew that much about him. What could have possible happened to him? The only logical thing she could think of was that a car had hit him. Jesse was too shy around women, so it wasn't likely that he picked one up and stayed at her house for the night. No, she declared, something is definitely wrong here.  
  
Picking up the phone, she dialed T.C.'s office number to report Jesse missing.  
  
Monica Harper sighed as she took a seat in the briefing room at the SMBBP station. The others all looked as annoyed to be there as she was. What was there to say? Nobody had been killed or killed, nothings was stolen or missing.  
  
T.C. entered a grave expression on his face. That, Monica realized, can't be good. "I'm sure you're all thinking what's the point of being here?" The others nodded. "Well, there is a reason. I'm sure most of you have heard of or at least know who Cory's new roommate is, Jesse Wilhelm. Cory called this morning to report him missing."  
  
"So what's the deal then?" Monica called out from her spot at the back of the room next to Bobby.  
  
"We treat this case as we would any other missing person's case. Cory isn't going to be working directly on this case, as you have already guessed, because she's too closely related. In which, case I'd like to have Monica and Bobby work directly on it."  
  
Monica's jaw hit the floor and next to her Bobby beamed. Finally, a serious case and Bobby was having him be the main person on it, next to Monica of course.  
  
"We have narrowed down the list of possibilities, and Cory says that, next to her, the only other person Jesse talked to was a guy by the name of Reeve Dellums. So I'm going to have Granger and Strickland talk to Dellums and found our if he knows anything or if he seems like he's up to something."  
  
"How long has Jesse been missing?" Jamie Strickland asked.  
  
"The last time Cory saw him was last night around eight-o-clock. It's been about eleven hours." T.C. cringed as the others realized just how dire their task was. After all, the first hour is almost the most crucial, any information that would led to a fast recovery would have been obtained in that frame of time. But instead, it had been eleven hours. "So let's wrap this up, I want to speak to Granger, Strickland, Harper, and Cruz. The rest of you, go on with your daily business, however be available to help at anytime."  
  
Monica and Bobby were told to stay put in the station for the time being while Russ and Jamie went to talk to Reeve and find out what they might know about Jesse's disappearing act.  
  
"So what do you think?" Russ asked Jamie as they pedaled hard to the small apartment where Reeve lived.  
  
"I don't know. It's weird, it's not like the guy had time to make that many enemies or anything like that. Didn't he just arrive about a week ago?"  
  
"Yes, but Cory said he grew up here." Russ shrugged and the pair picked up the pace, peddling harder.  
  
Sooner then they expected they were knocking on Reeve's apartment door. The door swung open, revealing a tough looking man with bulging biceps and a shirt that looked like a washcloth on him. "I no do anything." He said in a thick, Mexican accent.  
  
"Uh, we're not here because you're in trouble. But Jesse Wilhelm is missing and we were wondering if you might know anything about that." Jamie said.  
  
"I no know anything. Jesse good guy, why he missing?" He said, still blocking the door.  
  
"Sir, may we please come in and talk to you about this?" Russ asked, moving toward the door. "Thank you." He said as he followed Reeve to the living room and kitchen combination.  
  
"May I call you Reeve?" Jamie asked as she sat down. When the man nodded she continued. "Was Jamie here last night around eight-o-clock?"  
  
"No. He not come by yesterday. He say he busy."  
  
"Do you know what he was doing?" Russ inquired while Jamie scribbled down what Reeve was saying.  
  
"He say he have problems with man about money. That he spend to much money on bet."  
  
"What do you mean?" Jamie looked up. "Was he a professional better?"  
  
"No, no he no professional. He in football pool and he lose large money."  
  
"Do you know who ran the pool?"  
  
"His name is Bryon Sanchez." Reeve paused and then continued, "He big guy. You no want to get messed up with him."  
  
Russ and Jamie nodded, standing up. "Thank you for your time and cooperation. Will you be around in case we need to ask you more questions?"  
  
"Yes. I be here when you need me." Reeve opened the door for them and Jamie found herself surprised by the gentlemanly manners that Reeve possessed. He seemed too burly and bachelor-like to have such decent manners.  
  
When Russ and Jamie got back they found Monica and Bobby itching to go out and start looking for Jesse. They went up to T.C.'s office and briefed him on their progress.  
  
"OK, here's what we're going to do: Monica and Bobby, I want you both to get involved in this football pool-"  
  
"What about money, T.C.?" Bobby asked. "It takes a lot of money to get started in a pool and if we want this guy to think we're serious, we need major money."  
  
T.C. shook his head, "Don't worry about money." He assured them. "That will come from the department. Beside, once we bring this guy down all money will be confiscated as evidence. So you two are to get close to Bryon and make him trust you. I want you to find out all the information that you can, I don't care how you do it as long as he doesn't suspect anything." Monica and Bobby nodded while he continued, "Then on that note, try and get into the pool today. Here's an address I found, it's Bryon's apartment. He probably runs the whole operation out of that." 


	4. Chapter 4

Cory paced in the small apartment. Every sound she heard made her jump. It had now been close to twelve hours since she'd last seen from Jesse and there was still no sign of him at all. Jesse hadn't left the county, she knew that by the amount of clothes that still remained in his room, and he hadn't gone of with anybody. Jesse would never do that to. The only other explanation was that Jesse was being held against his will.  
  
"He's been here for a week and a half," She thought out loud, "and he couldn't possibly have any enemies. He's too lovable anyway." She thought of Jesse with his big blue eyes and dark, chocolate hair. He wasn't scrawny but he wasn't muscular, instead he was a combination of both, he was perfection.  
  
The phone next to her rang and she jumped a foot in the air, swearing at her absurd behavior.  
  
"Hello? Jesse?" She answered quickly. Her hopes soared, but the voice on the other end of the phone sent her hopes crashing to the ground.  
  
"Cory? It's Monica." She sounded distant and far away, probably on a cell phone, Cory figured. "We talked to Reeve Dellums, and he said that Jesse was messed up with a guy named Bryon Sanchez, it seems to be a betting thing. Do you have any idea what they're talking about?"  
  
Cory racked her brain, in the entire week and a half Jesse had been here, Cory had never once heard of Bryon Sanchez, let alone Jesse's gambling. "No, I have no idea. And you're sure this is correct? It's not false information, one of those 'look-the-other-way' tactics?"  
  
"Positive. Bobby and I are on our way to see Bryon Sanchez. T.C. wants up undercover as gamblers and get close to him. T.C. also seems to think that Bryon is going to know where Jesse is, whether or not he's responsible for the disappearance is still undetermined."  
  
"OK. Call me when you find out more information." Cory was about the hang up when she paused. "Monica? Please hurry, this isn't just some stranger. This is my best friend."  
  
Monica hung up and tried to keep the tears from springing to her eyes. Cory was so desperate to find Jesse, it was clear from her voice and attitude. Monica made it her personal goal to find Jesse, to find him alive.  
  
The apartment said to be Bryon's was in the classy section of town, where condo's were regulars and the apartments started at one thousand and five hundred dollars a month. Bryon's apartment was one of the large, more expensive, and fancier apartments in the vicinity. It was clear to Bobby, as he waited for the elevator to reach the fourth floor that Bryon was very good at what he did.  
  
"Do you know anything about betting?" He asked in a hushed voice.  
  
"Let me take care of myself. I've grown up around football, and I used to be in a pool." She told him.  
  
"Glad one of us does. OK, so it's like we discussed in the car. We're engaged, just moved here, and we're looking to make some cash quick so that we can get this wedding underway."  
  
"Think he'll buy it?" She doubted very seriously if anybody would believe she and Bobby were engaged. Shaking her head, she scolded herself. Now was certainly not the time to have doubts.  
  
Bobby seemed to agree with her because he looked at her and said sternly, "We'll make him believe."  
  
Taking her hand, he led her to apartment number 438. After knocking he heard rustling as, he assumed, Bryon made his way to the door. "Yes?" He asked as he opened the door a crack.  
  
"Mr. Sanchez? I'm Bobby Cortez and this is my fiancee Monica Williams."  
  
"That's nice to know." He said slowly, unclear as to what they wanted.  
  
"Mr. Sanchez, Bobby and I are getting married in a few weeks, and I really like this dress. The thing is, it's way over our price range. Ultimately, I was hopping to get into your football pool." Monica told him, rather convincingly.  
  
Bryon frowned, then opened the door to let the pair step in. "How did you hear about my pool?"  
  
Monica threw a glance at Bobby. "You're very well-known, Mr. Sanchez-"  
  
"Call me Bryon, please." He interrupted her then nodded for her to continue.  
  
"OK, well Bryon, you're very notable, as I mentioned already. Quite a few people have had good things to say about you."  
  
Bobby restrained himself from huffing and looked at Monica. He was amazed at how well she improvised their story, especially since they didn't have much time to get a good story together.  
  
"I normally don't let people place bets after Thursday." He started. Monica sucked in her breath; they had to get into the pool today, Jesse's life depended on it. "However, you people seem decent. What game are you betting on?"  
  
Monica glanced at Bobby, they'd completely forgot to figure that out. Not to mention that Bobby wasn't much of a football fan. "The Patriots versus Packers."  
  
Bryon smiled and walked to his desk where his chart was sitting. "OK, my starting rate is fifty dollars."  
  
"We'll put in one hundred." Bobby piped up. "I've got a good feeling about this." 


End file.
